CUNARD
LINE is putting the Queen Mary 2 on the World Cruise route
in 2007. The 151,000-ton QM2 will make its first round-the-world
voyage from Fort Lauderdale via Rio de Janeiro; San Francisco;
Honolulu; Sydney; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Alexandria, Egypt;
Athens; Rome; and Southampton, England. The QM2 will round Cape
Horn in South America instead of slipping through the Panama Canal,
which is how the Queen Elizabeth 2 will get from Fort Lauderdale to
Los Angeles on its 2007 world cruise. While the QM2 will be
embarking on its first world cruise, the QE2 will be leaving on its
25th.
EASYCRUISE, the un-cruise cruise line, is
reporting its first load factors: The orange-colored ship the
EasyCruiseOne recorded a 59% occupancy level during May, its first
month of operations. In August, EasyCruise is booking 83% of its
cabins. The line said that a mid-80% occupancy is a natural maximum
for this concept (i.e. the concept of hop-on, hop-off cruising; the
lines two-night stay minimum means the weekends book up faster than
the weekdays).
EASYCRUISES
WINTER CARIBBEAN OPERATION, however, is a little different
than the summer Med cruises because of a higher air cost. In order
to drive further sales for the weekly Caribbean itinerary, the line
said, EasyCruise is looking to establish relationships with the
[GDS] & so [agents] can book the flights and the cruise at the
same time in the same system. GDS negotiations, EasyCruise said,
are ongoing.
DISNEY CRUSISE
LINE REPEATERS, take note: The Disney Wonder is taking its
first-ever break from its short-cruise schedule to add in a few
extended stays. The ship is scheduled for a 10-day and an 11-day
cruise to the southern Caribbean. The 10-day cruise departs Sept.
7, 2006, and the 11-day cruise departs Sept. 17, 2006. The
itineraries includes calls at Barbados and St. Kitts, new calls for
Disney, as well as St. Thomas, St. Lucia, Antigua and, of course,
Castaway Cay, Disneys private island.
THE REGAL
PRINCESS, which was slated to transfer to the U.K.-based
Ocean Village fleet, will stay with the Princess Cruises fleet
instead, Carnival Corp. said last week. Instead, the German-market
Aidablu will become the second Ocean Village ship, in spring 2007.
Carnival gave a couple of reasons for the change: The Regal
Princess can maximize earnings for Princess. The Aidablu and the
current Ocean Village vessel are sister ships, which means
refitting the Aidablu will be easier. And Carnival has been on a
buying spree for Aida Cruises lately; the line will have three new
ships by 2009.